Eid-ul-Adha: Ahmadiyya Leader Greets Muslims, Urges Nigeria To Obey The Will Of Allah
The Amir (Head) Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, Nigeria, Alhaji (Barr.) Alatoye Folorunso Azeez, has urged Nigeria to obey the will of Almighty Allah in all respects as Muslims celebrate the feast of sacrifice – Eid Ul Al Adha.
In his 2021 Eid ul Adha (sallah) message, the leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Nigeria said obedience to the will of Allah must manifest in avoidance of greed,stinginess and miserliness. Avoid greed, stinginess, and miserliness in rendering genuine services to humanity.
Quoting from the Holy Quran Suratul Maudah, Chapter 5 verse 28, the head of Ahmadiyya said “ Without spirit of respect, spirit of obedience would not work. Without spirit of humility, neither spirit of respect nor obedience will work. And without spirit of righteousness or godliness, one cannot be humble. These are essential components of sacrifice.
While noting that the generally economic hardship in the country has deprived many Muslims to afford killing a ram, Barrister Alatoye reminded those who can afford to sacrifice a ram to remember the significance of doing so, as stated in chapter 22:38 of the Holy Qur’an: Their flesh reaches not Allah, nor does their blood, but it is your righteousness that reaches Him. Thus has He subjected them to you, that you may glorify Allah for His guiding you. And give glad tidings to those who do good.”
Accordingly, the ram should be shared into three, one part for the eating, one neighbours and one part to the needy,
Harping on attainment of righteousness for every Muslim as stated in the Holy Quran , Alhaji Alatoye make reference to the fear of Allah Taqwa as espoused by the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the Promised Messiah. According to him,’ we should love Allah as if we have died in His way. Just as we slaughter animals, we should consider ourselves slaughtered in the way of Allah. When anyone’s Taqwa is less than this, then it is not a sufficient level of Taqwa’.
The current World-wide Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in His Message of Eid-ul Adha, Hasrat Masroor Ahmad, Khalifatul Masih the fifth, said that “It is a reminder that one should sacrifice oneself for a greater good. This greater good that a Muslim should always be ready to sacrifice oneself for is the Almighty God, by way of sacrificing their time, wealth, honour and life.”
He further said “Understanding the true spirit of sacrifice is even more important in this day and age where some nations are usurping the rights of others; where the blood of human beings is being wasted for minor worldly goals.
The Head of Ahmadiyya in Nigeria, called on the government to approach the act of governance with act of sacrifice. He noted that , in an economy where income is not sufficient to cover operating expenses, “it will not be too much if all the political leaders in government in Nigeria can serve for free without salaries or any allowances. This is because, they are already well to do and it will be an act of sacrifice on their part is they can contribute to national economic recovery’’.
He equally admonish the the media to report the true message of Islam, while the government allow freedom of expressions and allow the existing laws to deal with purveyor of fake news.
It also the submission of the Ahmadiyya leader that the government should pay more attention to the security of the people, economic emancipation and elimination of the endemic corruption as well as desist from interest-based loans so as to avoid war with Allah.
Eid-ul-Adha is an occasion on which Muslims everywhere are encouraged to renew their commitment to make every kind of sacrifice for the spiritual, moral, social, and economic uplift of mankind. It also commemorates the obedience of Hazrat Ibrahim (as) and his son Hazrat Ismail(as) to the commandment of Allah. Hazrat Ibrahim(as) had a series of dreams in which he saw himself sacrificing his eldest son Ismail.
